Cards

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

COMC Black Friday (Set and PC Building)

This year, I did most of my Black Friday card shopping comparing Sportlots and COMC prices, and came away with a larger purchase from Sportlots than COMC, even with COMC's free shipping. I didn't buy any boxes to crack, due to a need for more hobby-related self-control this year, financially speaking. My main focus was completing sets, which was my collecting goal for 2016. I'll write more about set completion in a future post, but let me share my modest COMC haul.

Let's start with some set work. This purchase left me just a couple of cards away from the 2015 Topps Platinum set, which was my favorite product of last year.

The other set I'm still building from 2015 is Prestige. I've said it before, but I'll mention again that I think Panini has a done a great job melding their NFL license and NCAA license into products. I really like these rookie cards, with college unis, NFL team logos, and draft position front and center on the card. Well done. And this set will be done, too, as soon as I get my latest order.

Now we're stepping back in time (about 22 years) to finish a set. This card represents the last card I needed for 1994 Classic NFL Experience. Set completed!

We'll take a quick football break and hit only my 2nd basketball purchase of the year. Grant Hill is my all-time favorite player, and I love these two inserts.

I don't collect much basketball, but the collection I do have revolves around College Players of the Year. Joe Smith is another of my all-time favorites.

Now back to the football PCs. This Curtis Martin is numbered to 250, with the old dot matrix style numbering on Collector's Edge.

As much as I love the feeling of completing a set, these next few cards are my favorites of the order, and possibly my favorite pickups this year.

A couple of 2006 Police Set Packers. Very cool oddballs, and my first Chad Clifton.

I've decided to step up my BYU game, and I've found a few cheap autos of BYU legends. Luke Staley won the Doak Walker Award in 2001 after rushing for nearly 1600 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 8.1 yards per carry. He had a history of injuries, however, and when he declared early for the 2002 draft, he lasted until Detroit drafted him in Round 7. True to his history, he hurt his knee in training camp and never even played a preseason snap. This is my first Luke Staley card, and first auto.

Kyle Van Noy was a BYU fan favorite for his off-the-field story, but he cemented his legendary status as a junior in 2012 when he became the first player in NCAA history to record a stat in every defensive category (tackle, tackle for loss, sack, pass defensed, interception, touchdown, forced fumble, fumble recovered, blocked kick, and safety) in two straight seasons, and then single-handedly won the Poinsettia Bowl by forcing a fumble and recovering it in the end zone and then returning a pick for a touchdown. This Panini Hot Rookies Refractor is my third Van Noy auto.

And here's the biggie. I did not collect during the early 2000s, so I bought exactly zero cards in 2005. Therefore, I missed out on Aaron Rodgers's rookie year. And I'm cheap, so I've never spent more than $5 on a single card. But when I came across this on COMC for $2.62, I jumped on it. You are looking at my first Aaron Rodgers rookie. I'm a happy Packers fan.

The rest of my Black Friday was set building on Sportlots, and I'll update you on that later.